Legendary screenwriter William Goldman passed away at age 87 late last month. And if you’ve read or heard the late screenwriting titan discuss films, you might’ve noticed he almost reflexively called them “flicks.”
READ MORE: William Goldman Has Died: Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Of ‘All The President’s Men’ Was 87
A minor quirk of a 1960s vernacular, sure, but the phrase “flick” encapsulates a coherent attitude toward cinema from Goldman, even if his four-decade career in screenwriting isn’t so easy to define by a set of interests or genres. The flicks Goldman wrote or adapted were, as a rule, meant to entertain and stimulate in equal measure; they were quintessentially American; they understood dialogue to be a movie’s fuel; and of course, they never took themselves too seriously, even when his characters were about to die tragically, live happily ever after, or take down Richard Nixon.
READ MORE: The Essentials: Robert Redford’s Best Roles
To explore Goldman’s career, Be Reel — the newest addition to The Playlist Podcast Network, hosted by Portland film critic Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Brooklyn-based literary agent Noah Ballard — turns its focus and unique rating system to look back at three of The Essentials: “The Princess Bride” (1987), “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) and the all-too-topical “All The President’s Men” (1976).
These iconic films help to eulogize the prolific screenwriter and novelist. To help with the latter, Slate’s Marissa Martinelli joins the program to discuss the rich and surprisingly different world of the book version of The Princess Bride. Noah also has a unique exchange with Goldman’s longtime literary agent, who sums up why the late author insisted on adapting his own work: “He was good at it.”
Finally, Chance runs down some other must-sees and weird misses from Goldman’s filmography, including “Marathon Man” (1976), “The Hot Rock” (1972), “Magic” (1978), and “Maverick” (1994). So saddle up with your best one-liners, get the White House on the horn, and let’s ride off into the Fire Swamp to figure out why Hollywood loved the flicks of William Goldman, and why there may never be another like him.
All Be Reel shows and episodes going forward are now part of The Playlist Podcast Network – which includes Adjust Your Tracking, Over/Under Movies, Indie Beat, and more – and can be listened to on iTunes, Soundcloud, or Stitcher. To listen on this page, you can stream the podcast via the Soundcloud embed below or up top. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast as well as our other shows regularly. Please leave us a comment or rating as we greatly appreciate any kind of feedback.